Obiter Dicta
Pigskin Ceiling Impenetrable?
Posted: March 6, 2013
USA Today recently reported about Lauren Silberman, the first woman to try out for the National Football League: “Silberman did not take practice kicks. She merely jogged toward a tee and made a faint kicking motion.
“Her first kick from the 35-yard line — after it took her more than 20 seconds to place the ball on the tee — was a line drive that barely crossed midfield. The second one didn't get past the 50.
“Silberman, who landed awkwardly after her first attempt, then asked if she could see a trainer.
“The former college club-level soccer player with no football experience limped to the sideline and was examined for 10 minutes.
“Silberman vowed to give it another try as she disappeared into the cafeteria. But after she came back onto the field and consulted with combine officials, she decided to call it a day.
“‘I did the right thing by my body by resting it. It would be very dangerous for me to keep pushing my quad if the muscles would continue to tear,’” she said.
Quipped James Taranto, who writes the Best of the Web column for The Wall Street Journal: “It just goes to show you that social conditioning continues to hold women back in male-dominated fields.”
“Her first kick from the 35-yard line — after it took her more than 20 seconds to place the ball on the tee — was a line drive that barely crossed midfield. The second one didn't get past the 50.
“Silberman, who landed awkwardly after her first attempt, then asked if she could see a trainer.
“The former college club-level soccer player with no football experience limped to the sideline and was examined for 10 minutes.
“Silberman vowed to give it another try as she disappeared into the cafeteria. But after she came back onto the field and consulted with combine officials, she decided to call it a day.
“‘I did the right thing by my body by resting it. It would be very dangerous for me to keep pushing my quad if the muscles would continue to tear,’” she said.
Quipped James Taranto, who writes the Best of the Web column for The Wall Street Journal: “It just goes to show you that social conditioning continues to hold women back in male-dominated fields.”